AEW President Tony Khan has shared a clearer picture of why AEW pay-per-views regularly stretch deep into the night. Speaking after AEW Full Gear, he explained that the length is not a creative choice but a contractual obligation that the company must meet every time it goes live on pay-per-view.

Khan noted that AEW has always been required to produce shows that land close to the four hour mark, which is why every pay-per-view has surpassed three and a half hours. He made it clear that coming in short is not an option, as the company must reach roughly three hours and forty five minutes to satisfy its agreement.

“Our contracted time for the show has always been close to four hours. If you look back, every AEW pay-per-view has gone over three and a half hours. There’s never been one under that, because we’re required to run shows that go about three hours and forty five minutes. If we did not, I would have people to answer to.”

Khan also highlighted that AEW has avoided the kind of situation that once hit the Chi Town Rumble, where promoters had to fill unexpected time with enhancement talent after Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat finished their match too early.

“Thankfully, we did not end up in a Chi Town Rumble situation where they had to send out enhancement talent to wrestle for 15 minutes after Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat because they did not meet their contract time.”